Biker Mice From Mars - Breaking The Habit

You Can't Make An Omelet Without Breaking A Few Cars

Kiwi stared at herself in the mirror, somewhat impressed by what she was seeing, and that was saying something, for she usually avoided looking into the mirror at all costs.
She never liked what she saw, but today, it was different.
After a brief search, she had found the black leather motorcycle pants she always wore when her father took her on a drive.
Miraculously, it had survived the crash and to say that putting it on was a trip down memory lane was if anything an understatement, but the mice weren't the only ones dedicated to the cause, and thus she ignored all the memories and the associated feelings that popped up the moment she took the pants in her hands as well as she could.
On top of it, she wore a tight black shirt and a denim jacket from her teenage years.
For once, her usually messy black hair was now somewhat tamed, waving loosely over her shoulders.
Big sunglasses and a black bandana tied around her neck made the whole badass biker-girl look complete.
Or well, except for the fact that she didn't know how to drive an actual bike, but that would be her little secret.
All things considered, she looked kind of cool, actually, and a wry smile curled her lips as she gave herself one last look before she turned around and left her room.

...

A few minutes later, Kiwi and Throttle were standing next to his black and chrome ride in the garage, and the tan-furred mouse glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
"You sure you're okay with riding with me instead of Vinnie?", he asked a bit cautiously, not wanting to give her the feeling that he was judging her, for he wasn't.
Kiwi took a deep breath as she checked in with herself, but she didn't feel any panic, and she slowly nodded.
"I think I am."
"Okey-dokey. Let's do this, babe", and Throttle mounted his bike.
After a short hesitation, Kiwi climbed behind him, but she was still feeling very calm on the inside.
She wasn't sure why, but she was grateful that she was.
It meant that she was making some serious progress, something she never thought possible a few months back.

When they were both ready, Throttle revved his engine and after leaving her property, he set course to the bar that was the Road Raven's home base.
Kiwi had found the address with the money transfer, which made this whole thing almost too easy, but they were both fine with that.
This whole undercover thingy was already going to be challenging enough, so they could use all the strokes of luck that came on their path.
A quick glance over her shoulder learned that Vinnie and Modo were right behind them in her car, which gave her a reassuring feeling.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Throttle, for she did with everything she had in her, but he didn't give her the same feeling Vinnie gave her.
Perhaps that was why she was feeling so calm.
Because she knew he would be close.
And maybe that was also the reason why she had given Vinnie her car keys, although not without a proper warning, for her car was very dear to her.
When she finally handed over the keys, the poor mouse had looked two tints paler under his fur than usual, even more so, he hadn't said a word about her new outfit.
But that was a good thing.
It meant she had gotten through to him that she needed her car back in one piece and one piece only.

After tightening her grip around Throtte's waist, she rested her helmeted head on his back.
He drove differently than Vinnie.
Calmer.
More in control, which matched his character perfectly.
It really was strange, though.
How calm she still felt, considering that everything was completely turned upside down ever since the mice strolled into her life almost casually like only they could.
But finally, after months of suffering in dark loneliness, she felt calm.
Happy, even.
It was a clear sign to her that she was finally starting to come back from her depression, something she never thought possible, and yet here she was.
The dark blanket that covered and controlled her since the day her parents died slowly started to fall off her shoulders, making it easier to breathe and allowing her to see things in color again instead of black and white but mostly grey.